Trophy win no thing of beauty for Iowa State

Paul Rhoads, right, has made a habit of upsetting teams on the road. The Cyclones knocked Oklahoma State out of the championship picture last season and started 2-0 in 2012 with a win against Kirk Ferentz and Iowa on Saturday in Iowa City.

The trophy that caused so much outrage in Iowa — you know, the one so ugly that it had to be replaced — might have been a fitting prize for the winner of Saturday’s slugfest at Kinnick Stadium.

Iowa State beat Iowa 9-6 in a game that featured one touchdown, three field goals and six turnovers. The product wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, but the outcome was sweet for coach Paul Rhoads, who guided the Cyclones to their first win in Iowa City since 2002.

“To win in a rivalry game is always special,” Rhoads said Monday during the Big 12 conference call. “I think it exorcises more demons for fans and people in the state, bragging rights and all that, than it actually does internally for the coaching staff and the football team.

“We’re just happy to win on Sept. 8, 2012, in a hard-fought, somewhat ugly game.”

The Cyclones had a chance to apply some cosmetics at the end, but Steele Jantz threw an interception on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 3:32 remaining, one of three red-zone turnovers for Iowa State. That kept Iowa in the game, but Jake Knott sealed the win by intercepting a pass with 1:11 remaining and the Hawkeyes approaching field-goal range.

Knott recognized a play Iowa had run several times in the game, Rhoads said, even though the ball went to a different target on that particular snap.

“To have that presence speaks of why he’s an award candidate with about every major linebacker award in the country,” Rhoads said. “What he means to our team, I don’t know if I could put a value on it.”

The Cyclones are 2-0 despite being underdogs against Tulsa and Iowa. That’s a familiar position for Rhoads, who noted that Iowa State has won 20 games the past three years despite being favored in only eight.

“We like the role, I guess,” Rhoads said. “We’re used to the role. Maybe that’s more accurate. We just go out and prepare and take the field every Saturday with expectations to win a football game.”

HORNS OFF TO OXFORD

It’s not quite the Champions Bowl, but Saturday will provide this season’s first Big 12-SEC matchup with Texas playing at Mississippi.

The Rebels haven’t been much of a factor in the SEC of late, but the game still poses challenges for Texas. Ole Miss is 2-0 under first-year coach Hugh Freeze with an offense averaging 551 yards per game, and the Longhorns will have time to kill in Oxford, Miss., before the 8:15 p.m. kickoff.

Texas is spending Friday night in Memphis, coach Mack Brown said, so the Longhorns won’t have their usual on-site walkthrough.

“I know they’re excited about going into the SEC,” Brown said. “They’re excited about Ole Miss. They’re impressed by them and they’re happy that they’re 2-0, so it’ll be two undefeated teams playing.”

COWBOYS REELING

Pistol Pete took aim at his own toes Saturday night as Oklahoma State committed 15 penalties for 167 yards in a 59-38 loss at Arizona. The Cowboys also committed four turnovers, although coach Mike Gundy didn’t pin the blame on freshman quarterback Wes Lunt.

“We didn’t play very smart football, and that’s on me,” Gundy said. “I’ve got to do a better job of keeping us disciplined before we go out and play the game. We had so many personal fouls that we basically took ourselves out of the game on defense.”

Oklahoma State could get a boost from the return of coordinator Bill Young, who missed the team’s first two games with an undisclosed health issue.

“He’s doing better,” Gundy said. “He’s here. I’m hoping that they’ll release him and he can get back out there with our football team.”

RG3, MEET THE NFL

Robert Griffin was the star among rookie quarterbacks on the first NFL Sunday, completing 19 of 26 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns in his Redskins debut.

Baylor coach Art Briles didn’t see the game, but he wasn’t surprised when he heard the numbers.

“He’s dang good at what he does,” Briles said. “I think the more people see him on the National Football League level, the wow factor will become more commonplace.”

TV TIMES

The Big 12 released TV selections for Sept. 22, with Kansas State facing Oklahoma at 6:50 p.m. on Fox and Kansas playing Northern Illinois at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN3.

Other games that day include Maryland at West Virginia (11 a.m. on FX) and Virginia at TCU (11 a.m. on ESPN/ESPN2). Baylor plays a Friday game against Louisiana Monroe at 7 p.m. Sept 21 on ESPN.

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Cheats....Seems the Cats always have trouble with the Clones. Usually comes down to the wire. It's a tough place to play, and I know this may sound strange, but that game scares me. Already have my tickets.